Teal + Orange Color Grading: The “Hollywood” Trick You’ve Definitely Seen (and Probably Tried to Copy)
You know that look in action movies where the hero’s face is warm and glowy, but the background is all cool and moody like the entire world is wearing a teal hoodie? That’s teal and orange grading. And yes, it’s everywhere because it works. Annoyingly well.
The best part: you don’t need a film studio, a $900 plugin, or a minor in Color Science™. You just need to understand why it flatters people, when to use it (and when to absolutely not), and how to keep your subject from looking like they fell asleep in a spray tan booth.
Let’s get into it.
Why teal + orange looks so good (aka: your eyeballs love complementary colors)
This whole thing starts with the color wheel where orange complementary color is doing what it does best: being dramatic.
- Teal and orange are opposites (complementary colors), so they create strong contrast without looking “off.”
- Human skin every skin tone lives in the warm orange/yellow family. Different depth, different brightness… but still that general neighborhood.
- So when you cool down the shadows/background toward teal and keep skin warm, your subject pops forward like, “Hi, I’m the main character.”
Also? It mimics golden hour lighting: warm sunlight on the face + cool sky filling the shadows. Even if you shot it under sad office fluorescents, your brain goes, “Ah yes, flattering light. We trust this.”
Before you touch a single slider: do this so you don’t make a muddy mess
Teal/orange grading is like turning the volume up. Which means if your photo has problems, this look will lovingly amplify them and then hand them a microphone.
Here’s my quick pre-grade routine:
- Start with RAW if you can. You’ll have way more wiggle room in shadows (and this look loves pushing shadows).
- Fix exposure first. Get your histogram reasonably spread out without nuking highlights or crushing shadows into oblivion.
- Set white balance to neutral-ish. If you start too warm or too cool, teal/orange can turn into “why is everything… brownish?”
If your image is super underexposed, super flat, or already wildly saturated… teal/orange might not be the vibe. (Not every photo needs to audition for a Netflix thriller.)
When teal + orange is a yes… and when it’s a no
It tends to look amazing on:
- Portraits (if you protect skin more on that in a second)
- Cinematic/narrative shots (street scenes, cars, night shots, moody interiors)
- Travel/landscapes (especially when there’s no skin to babysit)
I pull back (or skip it) when:
- The scene already has a ton of strong blues (bright sky/water) and teal makes it look… dirty
- The shadows are noisy (teal will basically highlight the noise like it’s proud of it)
- It’s food or product photography (unless you want your pasta to look mildly haunted)
- Lighting is super flat with no real highlight/shadow structure
My go to teal + orange workflow in Lightroom (simple, fast, controllable)
There are a bunch of ways to do this, but here’s the reality: you want cooler shadows and warmer highlights, while keeping skin believable in an orange and blue pairing. That’s it. That’s the whole spell.
Step 1: (Optional) Camera Calibration “shortcut”
If your photo already has decent warm/cool separation, Calibration can give you an instant head start.
In Calibration (Lightroom Classic) try:
- Blue Primary Hue: pull it left (often somewhere around -60 to -100)
- Red Primary Hue: push it right (often +20 to +60)
This kind of reinterprets color under the hood, so teal/orange starts showing up early.
Downside: it’s fast, but not always precise. Think “big paint roller,” not “tiny eyeliner brush.”
Step 2: Color Grading wheels (this is where the magic happens)
Go to Color Grading:
- Shadows: aim toward teal/cyan (roughly the 120-180° zone)
Saturation: often 40-60 as a starting point (then adjust like a reasonable person) - Highlights: aim toward orange (roughly 20-40°)
Saturation: often 50-70 to start
Midtones? I usually leave them alone at first. Midtones are where things get muddy fast, like when you “fix” your room by shoving everything into one closet.
Common mistake I see constantly: people push shadows too far into blue/purple and suddenly the photo looks like a bruise. If your shadows go purple, nudge back toward cyan/teal.
Step 3: HSL cleanup (aka: “stop yelling, Yellow”)
HSL is where you keep the look stylish instead of chaotic.
Try these gentle moves:
- Shift Blues slightly toward cyan (teal-ify them)
- Tame Yellows a bit so they don’t compete with skin and highlights
- Darken Blues a touch in Luminance to give shadows more depth
You don’t need to memorize numbers. You need to watch your image and not panic scroll every slider like it insulted your family.
Step 4: (Optional) Add a matte/faded curve if you want that film-ish softness
If you like the “faded blacks” vibe:
- Lift the black point slightly (just a little don’t turn your photo into a grey fog)
- Keep contrast under control so it doesn’t look washed out
This is optional. Teal/orange works with crisp contrast too. Don’t let Instagram convince you everything must be matte to be cool.
How to keep skin from turning into a Cheeto (very important, please don’t skip)
This is where most teal/orange edits go to die.
If you push warm tones hard, skin can go from “healthy glow” to “radioactive vacation tan” real quick.
What I do when faces start looking too orange:
- In HSL, reduce Orange saturation a little (start small, like -10-ish)
- Nudge Orange hue slightly toward yellow if needed (tiny moves)
- Lift Orange luminance a touch so skin brightens without getting more saturated
And one personal rule: I’m extremely cautious with the Green slider. Green is sneaky. You think you’re fixing something and suddenly your subject looks mildly seasick.
If you’re working on portraits, you can also use masking (Lightroom’s subject/people masks are great now) to reduce the effect on skin while keeping the background moody.
My “don’t export yet” checklist (takes 20 seconds, saves regret)
Before you call it done:
- Skin check: warm and alive, not sunburned or orange painted
- Shadow detail: cool and moody, but still textured (unless you’re intentionally going dramatic)
- Highlight separation: warm highlights should feel separate from midtones
- The reality test: zoom out and ask, “Would a normal human believe this light existed?”
If you want to be extra sure, show someone who doesn’t edit photos. If they say, “Wow, great photo,” instead of, “What filter is that?” you nailed it.
Want different vibes? Same recipe, different intensity
This look is basically a dimmer switch.
- Classic/cinematic: moderate teal shadows + moderate warm highlights
- Faded lifestyle: same hues, just lower saturation and lift blacks a touch
- High drama fashion: push it harder (but still keep skin in check fashion can be bold, not weird)
The secret isn’t the exact slider numbers. It’s knowing when to stop. (The hardest skill in editing, honestly.)
Save it as a preset so you’re not reinventing the wheel every Tuesday
If you land on a combo you love, save it as a preset. Future you deserves that.
Just remember: presets get you 70-80% there. The last bit is always image by image tweaks (exposure, WB, and especially skin).
Quick notes if you want to go deeper (Photoshop + video)
If you’re a control freak (affectionate) or you’re grading footage:
- Photoshop: Camera Raw Filter gives you the Lightroom tools with more layering/masking power. You can group adjustments and lower opacity so it doesn’t get heavy handed.
- Video (Resolve/Premiere/FCP): same order of operations balance first, then teal in shadows, orange in highlights/midtones, then reduce intensity until it looks like real light and not a cartoon.
With video especially, subtlety wins. Motion makes strong grades feel stronger.
The real “Hollywood secret”: restraint (and a tiny bit of confidence)
Teal and orange works because it follows how humans see color and skin. You’re not fighting the image you’re guiding it.
So try it on a batch this week. Start softer than you think you need. Protect skin like it’s your job. And if you go too far (you will, we all do), just pull it back and pretend it was intentional experimentation.
That’s basically the whole creative process, right?